Entry Level Buyer’s Guide, July 2005
by Jarred Walton on July 20, 2005 12:05 AM EST- Posted in
- Guides
Case and Input Recommendations
While we generally like to recommend a good quality power supply and a more user-friendly case, such amenities tend to increase costs quite a bit. We would never advise people to avoid a decent power supply or case, and while the components that we've listed should all work without trouble with the following cases, long-term reliability of the generic power supplies is suspect. Worst case scenario - pardon the pun - is that you'll have to purchase a new power supply down the road (and/or deal with RMA issues).
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Price: $69 shipped (Retail)
We found a combo package that includes a case, speakers, keyboard, and mouse from Codegen for just $69. None of the individual components are really great parts, but they'll work well enough and they help to keep costs down. The PSU does include a 20+4-pin power connector for use with the latest motherboards, and it even has a 120mm that should keep noise levels down. While a fan mount that can accommodate an 80mm or 120mm fan is present at the rear of the case, no fan is included, so you'll have to spend another $8 or more. Another 80mm fan mount is available at the front of the case to help cool your hard drive(s) if you want to max out the cooling, and a plastic duct allows the CPU HSF to draw in fresh air directly. Front USB and audio ports are available, and the USB ports at least have a single 9-pin connector ready to plug into the motherboard header.
Another small bonus to this setup is that the case, speakers, and keyboard/mouse are all color coordinated - and they match quite well with the 793DF monitor that we selected. While it's not a perfect selection by any means, it does offer a decent bundle price. If you're uncomfortable with a generic PSU or feel that it's affecting system stability, you can always replace it in the future. Just for reference, a system slightly better than the upgraded AMD selection only draws 230W of power under load from the wall, so 350W should be more than sufficient even when taking the often exaggerated claims into account.
Click to enlarge.
Price: $67 shipped (Retail)
Our upgraded case is another relatively inexpensive setup with a generic 400W power supply. Unfortunately, the PSU doesn't have a 24-pin power connection, but we have used 20-pin connections on numerous PCs without difficulty. Again, the most powerful of the configurations that we've listed in this Guide shouldn't consume more than 250W of power at load, so even an exaggerated claim of 400W shouldn't have any trouble. Some of the additions that make this case worthwhile are the inclusion of a Firewire port at the front of the case, along with audio and USB - though you would need a motherboard with Firewire support to actually take advantage of that addition. Unfortunately, the USB and audio wires are all single pin connections, so you'll have to spend a bit of extra time with your motherboard manual to make sure that you have the pins wired properly. It's not too difficult, but it's far less convenient than the 9-pin USB block used in most other cases.
The case is actually quite nice in appearance, with a silver front panel rather than beige - which is why we selected the silver NEC 3540A earlier. An LCD display is also present that can show the time and date along with the temperature of either the system, CPU, or hard drive. Some people will like the display while others will think it looks silly. As with the Codegen case, there are no fans supplied. There is a 120mm fan mount at the front of the case and two 80mm mounts at the rear, and we'd recommend filling at least one of those with a fan, which will add another $5 or more to the cost, depending on the fan.
Upgraded Keyboard and Mouse: Logitech Internet Pro Desktop
Price: $23 shipped (Retail)
You have to have a keyboard and mouse, naturally, and we prefer Logitech or Microsoft models due to the key layout. Combo packages online are usually the best deals, with some going for as little as $18. Some will even include speakers if you need them, though the quality will probably be even worse than the Codegen speakers that came with the case that we listed above.
Buy what you like, but we strongly recommend optical mice over the older style - we still cringe every time we come across a system with a dirty tracking ball in an old mouse. We also avoid USB keyboards due to periodic quirkiness that can cause problems. What sort of problems? I updated the chipset drivers on a system recently that had a USB keyboard and mouse, only to have both cease functioning while Windows prompted me to reboot in order for the hardware changes to take effect. Pressing the power button normally shuts down the computer, but Windows once again prompted me that a program wasn't responding and wanted to know if I should wait or end the task. I had to hold the power button for 6 seconds to cut power, and while that's not the end of the world, it's generally better to power down the OS gracefully. BIOS support can also be quirky - one BIOS had the option to enable USB keyboard support, but by default it was off, and without a standard keyboard you couldn't enable it. This is probably all trivia, as USB keyboards aren't budget components, but it's useful information regardless.
Optional Power Supply: Fortron Source ATX300-PA ATX12V 300W
Price: $32 shipped (Retail)
To make this clear, $30 to $50 for a separate power supply is definitely something to consider. The PSUs in the above cases are probably over-rated (i.e. 225W instead of the listed 350W and 250W instead of 400W) and they aren't going to have high quality heat sinks. The weight of a power supply says a lot about its quality, if you actually have the chance to lift a PSU you're thinking about purchasing. While the Fotron Source 300W is only rated at 300W, the rating is likely far more accurate than the cheap models that are included with most cases. The systems as configured should be fine with the cheap power supplies, but if you have any interest in upgrading the parts we'd highly recommend getting a better PSU.
Besides the 300W Fotron Source, you might look at the more powerful Fotron Source models as well as Enermax, SeaSonic and Antec. If you're going to actually upgrade the power supply, we suggest that you get a model with a 24-pin power adapter and dual 12V rails. No sense in spending $30 for a slight upgrade when $40 will improve the quality quite a bit relative to the included PSUs, right? Prices say a lot about power supplies, and if you find a "500W" power supply for under $45, we'd be very suspicious.
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RussellCollins - Wednesday, August 31, 2005 - link
So let's just start with some basics. I have relied upon the reviews here for the last 6 or 7 years when it came to building computers. I have built several of my own based upon a mix of recommendations from this site and personal research. My background is in mechanical engineering and I am currently working as a software test engineer. I say that to suggest that even those who know better can pay for their mistakes they shouldn't have made...I built a system for my parents (*gasp, that's already asking for trouble) based almost exclusively off this entry-level model (AMD flavor). It worked perfectly for about a week and then the system simply refused to turn on. I tried checking as many things as I could to narrow down the problem based on the limited equipment I had on hand. I thought at first that a bad power-supply might have fried some of the silicon so I had them get a new mobo after all the components plugged into it (save for the CPU) were tested on other machines and appeared to be fine.
Needless to say, I'm STILL ironing out the kinks in my spare time because it refuses to breath again. The fans all turn on but nobody's home (won't even post to BIOS). I'll be installing a new CoolerMaster PSU and probably new CPU this week just to finally resolve the issue.
Final words: go with your instinct for self-preservation and get a trustworthy power supply. It isn't worth the risk and headache. This was a good review overall but I wish now that I had gone with my first hunch to swap out power supplies before the first boot.
DarkForceRising - Sunday, August 28, 2005 - link
Does the Foxconn AMD Mobo. have integrated graphics?Gioron - Sunday, July 24, 2005 - link
Ok, I hate to harp on it, but I'm going to anyways. The included power supply in the case is a bad idea. Although I can't be sure this is the exact power supply, I went and found a review of a 350W codegen from annother cheap case. Here's the picture of the spec sheet: http://www.mikhailtech.com/articles/psu/codegen350...">http://www.mikhailtech.com/articles/psu/codegen350...Things of note:
How the hell does that add up to 350W? I only get about 330W just by adding everything together. It sure as heck can't output all of that at once, and usually its a good idea to ignore the piddly little negatives and the VSB buss, which would drop it down to a heck of a lot lower than 300W. Honestly, I'd be suprised if this can handle 200W well. The only real hope is that they've improved their 350W power supplies in the couple years since the review, but I would doubt it.
And then there's the quote from the article: "Worst case scenario - pardon the pun - is that you'll have to purchase a new power supply down the road (and/or deal with RMA issues)."
No, thats _NOT_ the worst case scenario, although its a likely scenario. I had to completely replace every component in my parent's computer when their power supply died. I tested everything seperately and every single component in the system was toast. And the real worst case scenario involves an electical fire burning your house down (yah yah, not terribly likely, but a lot more likely with that power supply than with a quality one). Power supply death isn't something you want to deal with.
As far as dell systems go, it was interesting to note that 2 of them on the site ended up dying when we had a planned power outage, even though the computers were switched off at the time. The sun boxes we also use came through fine.
Side note: I was viewing the comments, then had to reload the dang thing because of an error. Then <poof>, the new comment system was in. Somewhat confusing to get used to, not sure I like the change yet, but just barely using it. Might be a good idea to add post numbers to things like this, just since everyone is so used to saying "#12, you're an idiot", etc. And add a preview button while you're at it.
Pythias - Monday, September 5, 2005 - link
Is this budget system going to pull 330 watts at peak?spartacvs - Monday, July 25, 2005 - link
I totally agree with you. It's funny because the computer case is propably the least important part of a computer. But the power supply is probably the most important. lolI don't think the problem is comming from Jarred. IMO, he do a hell of a good job in his systems guides. No, imo, the problem might coming from the price limit. Maybe 500$ is too low, maybe go with 550-600$. Sure you can buy a system for that price but is it really viable? Will you end up with a much better system that will last longer (eg. the messages about the monitor) for 50-100$ more?
JarredWalton - Tuesday, August 2, 2005 - link
Thanks, spartacvs...The budget price is killer. I deal with people asking about $500 PCs all the time, and I shudder at the compromises that often need to be made. You're right about the PSU, Gioron: the WORST that can happen is really bad. Very unlikely IMO, but I have had a cheap PSU fry everything in a system (other than the graphics, sound, HDD, and CD-ROM). That was an old socket 370 board, and the Celeron, motherboard, and RAM all got toasted along with the PSU.
For what it's worth, I really do encourage people to upgrade the PSU. Still, I *think* these chepaer cases will do okay with budget components. Don't upgrade the graphics or CPU and stick with a single HDD and you should do okay. I think I may actually go out and purchase one of these cases for an article. A sort of PSU expose to see if I can get better OC results and stability with a good PSU rather than the crappy "350W" included. Heheheh.... stay tuned! :D
spartacvs - Thursday, July 21, 2005 - link
And you can still buy a video board later. Also, a monitor last longer (like most of the peripherals).Zebo - Thursday, July 21, 2005 - link
True I hear ya. But the low end LCD's dont usually have DVI... All I'm saying is if I had $500 for a system I'd rather have integrated graphics and a 17" LCD than a 6200 TC with a 17" cheap CRT. As ones budget gets higher more and better options open up.. maybe I'm just low-balling to much.:)OldPueblo - Thursday, July 21, 2005 - link
The 6200TC allows you to play BF2, D3, HL2, and whatever else for an amazingly low price. The card is a gift in my eyes. I have friends that just absolutely cannot afford anything else, and to them its a godsend.JarredWalton - Thursday, July 21, 2005 - link
44 - Calin, I'm not a big fan of mail-in rebates, so you're looking at $280 for the cheapest 19" LCD that has DVI input. If you don't mind MIRs, you can get an Aopen F90JS for $242 from Newegg - $70 MIR. I still say the Acer AL1914SMD at $307 is a great LCD, though. Expensive for a "budget" system, but a good display can last through 3 computer upgrades or more.43 - Zebo, I'd like to recommend an LCD with integrated graphics, but the lack of DVI output from the IGP motherboards makes the add-in card almost a requirement in my book. (That's another one of the problems I have with the "free LCD upgrades" you get from OEMs; LCDs without DVI are simply not the same.) It's still an option, though, and I think the recommendations in this Guide give people enough information to put together such a setup if they want.